Commence
It’s an exciting day out at the ranch! 2 ½ years after we lost our Mom, we will finally have full-time residents living in the blue house!
Our family was in the fortunate position of being able to take our time as we sorted, sifted, trashed, and donated 60 some years of accumulated keepsakes and memories from our parents married life. Not to mention things that had belonged to my grandparents and uncles. It’s been difficult, challenging, and heart wrenching. My go-to saying has been, “the things are not the memories”, as it sure can feel like getting rid of items diminishes the memory that went with it.
For the last few months, I’ve tossed and turned, and fretted about what to do with the house and who we could possibly get for neighbors. We thought about a vacation rental, wondered if one of the grandchildren would want it one day, or of course if we should just sell it. A decision was put on hold, when our niece Hope asked if she and her (now) husband Dan could get married in the backyard in the summer of ‘22.
In the spring of 2022 we had our answer for awhile. A nasty tornado moved its way through the southside of Des Moines and through the Pleasant Hill area leaving uninhabitable housing in its wake. My brother saw a Facebook post where some friends from his Denison days had a son with a wife and two children that had their home impacted and they couldn’t live there. A quick phone call and all of the sudden we had neighbors! The Ploeger family was able to live in the house from March-October that year. We still had all the furniture and kitchen items in the house, so it was a perfect solution for them and for us.
As 2023 approached there were two more big weddings on the horizon for our family. Scott, Chad and I decided that we would list the house when the weddings were done in the summer. I had a change of heart around June and convinced everyone we should try to get it on the market by July. So in the midst of all the wedding adventures we started to do the final cleaning and clearing out. Scott, Chad, Sherri, and Shelly helped with a garage sale, and we did hire someone to pack up the final things for donation. Grace and Faith cleaned the house from top to bottom, and finally we engaged Abbi’s real estate expertise to have the house listed and staged.
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Abbi had the best attitude to deal with her mother’s and uncle’s endless questions and concerns. Then just one day into the house being staged she brought her friends Katie and Zach out to have a look. Not just any friends, but people that have been more like family for the past 25 years! (Katie and Abbi even have professional pictures together from when they were just three!) I was over-the-top excited to just imagine having them as neighbors! Well it didn’t take long! Katie brought out her realtor uncle and within a week they put together an offer that we accepted — just the best possible situation!
This all happened in July — we just had to wait for Katie and Zach to sell their Des Moines home which was finalized today!
So today we commence — move forward and usher in a new era out here at the ranch. I know my parents would have been thrilled that a young couple is going to enjoy living out here just as much as they did. It will lift my spirit tremendously to see a house full of life and love across the driveway!
Welcome Zach and Katie (Norton) Dupre — you are exactly who we’ve been waiting for!!
